Towton 1461: England's Bloodiest Battle

by Christopher Gravett

Book Overview

On a bitterly cold Palm Sunday, 29 March 1461, the army of King Edward IV met that of his Lancastrian enemies on a snow-covered battlefield south of the village of Towton in Yorkshire. The struggle lasted all day in the longest and bloodiest battle of the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485). With the arrival of Yorkist reinforcements under the Duke of Norfolk, the Lancastrian line eventually broke and their troops fled, many being caught and slaughtered...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841765139
• ISBN13: 9781841765136
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.1" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Bloody Meadow

I live not much more than a stone throw away from the battlefield of Towton and I don't know whether it is this fact or something else that has meant that I have always been fascinated by this battle above all others in the campaign called the War of the Roses. The area of the battlefield is relatively large and in the present day there is a cross at the side of the road that runs across the battlefield. The Battle of Towton has been given the title of the Bloodiest Battle ever fought on English soil and there is no reason to doubt this. It was fought in atrocious conditions, in fact in the middle of a snow storm on palm Sunday and when the Yorkists finally routed the Ancestries a wave of slaughter spread over many miles. The beaten Lancastrians were followed back towards Tadcaster and York and many of them died in the `Cock beck' that bordered the battlefield. The book is full of all the information necessesary to be able to get a vivid picture of what the battlefield was like at the time and to show how the opposing armies lined up their troops. It gives a detailed account of the battle, a battle that the Lancastrians appeared to winning until the Yorkists were re-inforced by more troops arriving and then the brutal and bloody rout that followed as the Lancastrians were chased from the field. The fighting was brutal and after the archers had done their bit, mainly hand to hand. There have been many skeletons unearthed from the many mass graves that littered the battlefield and some of the skulls have a square hole in them, a shape that suggests they had been pole axed. For anyone interested in battles in general and the battle of Towton in particular, it is a must read.

concise and researched

The bloodiest battle of the wars of the Roses and the bloodiest battle to ever occur on English soil occurred in early spring 1461.Casualties however appear to have been overestimated and Gravett seeks to give a truer picture downgrading the casualties from reportedly as high as 60,000 to Gravetts more realistic figure of 13,000. Excellent photos and artists renditions,you can feel the cold wind howling and see the snowflakes.Although the House of Lancaster under the MIA(missing in action) king Henry VI,seemed to have the initial advantage,the snow and frontal wind made his archery barrages inneffectual.This set a "bad omen" type of atmosphere for Henry's army,although they were still capable of winning.Edward the IV's archery barrage was flowing with the wind with the snow blowing away from his archers' faces.Undoubtedly Henry's army was already facing a "morale" problem from this inequality. Very little to no artillery was used here at Towton,yet 10 years later at Tewkesberry,Edward would use field artillery very effectively.So now the hand to hand combat at Towton begins with the archery duel over.Both sides appeared evenly matched until the Duke of Norfolk(a commander under Edward arrives to reinforce the right wing of the army.)A panic grips king Henry's left wing due to Norfolk and it apparently grips the whole army.A chase and slaughter follows with Edward becoming the new legitimate king.There are 2 battles after this,Hexham and another where Edward mops up.There are some good photos of skeletal remains of soldiers whose mass graves were found later some as recent as 1994.Another great Osprey addition.

A very readable book

I am no scholar on fifteenth century warfare but I enjoy reading about history, particularly military history. "Towton 1461" provides the reader with a concise but still interesting look into a particularly brutal Medieval battle. The snowy weather conditions, the fact it was fought on Palm Sunday, and the horrific death toll all combined to give the confrontation a legendary feel. The section of the book describing skeletons of men who died in the battle was especially interesting. The paintings of the battle were well done. Overall this has been one of my favorite Osprey Campaign Series works to date.

Very Nice Account of the Battle

This is another excellent addition to the Osprey Campaign Series. It describes Towton, a major engagement during the War of the Roses and one of the bloodiest battles to ever occur in England. During the introductory chapters the author provides a succinct background to the era and effectively introduces the reader to the major personalities and relevant events that led up to the campaign. This was especially helpful as I knew almost nothing about the War of the Roses, and had never heard of the Battle of Towton, before I read this book. The battle itself is particularly well described. One draw back (which is not really the authors fault) is that there is a fair amount of doubt about what actually happened. The few available primary accounts are vague and contradictory. However, the author does a great job of piecing together the available information and presenting the most plausible course of events. When several explanations are possible he describes all likely courses of action. Overall, this book should be a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in medieval warfare or English history. One particularly appealing aspect of the book is the inclusion of forensic evidence collected from grave pits at the battle site. Several very dramatic photographs are included that show incredible injuries to some of the battle participants; in one case a skull exhibits an ~1 inch square puncture wound possibly caused by a pollaxe, in another case the front of a skull has been crushed by a sword or axe. There is even a forensic reconstruction of the facial features of one solider based upon his skeletal remains. Thus, readers can almost literally look into the faces of soldiers that took part in this battle.